Asia Cup 2022: Virat Kohli hugs Wasim Akram ahead of the Indo-Pak mega clash

Team India is facing arch-rivals Pakistan in their tournament opener of the 2022 T20 Asia Cup, being played at the Dubai International Stadium on August 28 (Sunday). Meanwhile, Team India’s star batter Virat Kohli has made his return to the Indian side after a brief break and will want to perform well with the bat against the Men in Green.

Before the start of the mega event, the right-handed batter was seen meeting former Pakistan pacer Wasim Akram, who has been working with the broadcasters of Asia Cup 2022. The two stalwarts of the game hugged each other and shared a laugh before the all-important toss.

Apart from Akram, Kohli also met former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan

Apart from meeting veteran Akram, the run-machine from India also met the former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan, and the two also hugged each other. The photos of the player’s meet-up quickly went viral on social media, with fans applauding Kohli’s gesture.

Notably, Akram recently heaped praise on the former Indian skipper and said that he hopes that the modern-day legend does not return to form against the Men in Green. “First of all, let me start by saying that criticism from Indian fans against Kohli has been unnecessary. He is one of the greatest of all time, not just in this era. He still fit as a fiddle. He is still one of the best fielders in the Indian squad,” Akram had said earlier.

“As they say class is forever, and that is Virat Kohli. Hope he doesn’t come back to form against Pakistan, but he will come back eventually,” said Akram in a press conference organized by Star Sports, the official broadcaster for Asia Cup.

Meanwhile, Team India skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss against Pakistan and opted to bowl first on a good-looking batting track. To note, India’s prominent wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant was left out of the XI, with Dinesh Karthik taking the wicketkeeping duties.